Matt Kemp, the NL player of the month for April, hadn’t been intentionally walked all season before Colorado manager Jim Tracy gave him two free passes today. It was the second of those that was truly surprising, though: Kemp was put on as the tying run with a man on first and two outs in the ninth.

The Rockies were leading 5-3 when Rafael Betancourt walked Kemp, bringing up Dee Gordon. The move was made even though Kemp had just a lone single in 10 career at-bats against Betancourt. Gordon went on to hit a game-tying double, with Kemp scoring all of the way from first. The Rockies should have had a play at the plate on Kemp, but Troy Tulowitzki rushed the relay and threw the ball well up the first base line. A good throw likely would have had Kemp by several feet.

Fortunately the Rockies were able to preserve the tie from there: after an intentional walk to Andre Ethier, Jerry Hairston Jr. made a bid for a three-run homer, only to have the ball go foul. He ended up striking out. The Rockies then picked up their manager, as Jason Giambi hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth to win the game.

With Odorizzi, the Twins finally have the front-end starter they’ve been seeking all winter. It’s a bargain deal as well, as the 27-year-old righty is under contract through 2019 and didn’t require the club to part with any of their top-shelf prospects in the trade. Odorizzi will be looking to stage a comeback in 2018 after a dismal performance with the Rays last year, during which he eked out a career-worst 4.14 ERA, 3.8 BB/9 and 8.0 SO/9 through 143 1/3 innings.

Palacios, 21, ranked no. 27 in the Twins’ system last season. He split his year between Single-A Cedar Rapids and High-A Fort Myers, raking a combined .296/.333/.454 with 13 home runs and 20 stolen bases in 539 plate appearances. He’s expected to continue developing at shortstop, though he’s also seen limited time at second and third base during his four-year career in the minors.